Michelle O'Neill yet to respond to request for commitment to not resign

Deputy First Minister Emma Little- Pengelly (left) and First Minister Michelle O’Neill (Rebecca Black/PA)

Northern Ireland’s First Minister Michelle O’Neill has not yet formally responded to a request that she make a commitment to not resign.

Opposition leader Matthew O’Toole wrote to Ms O’Neill and deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly asking for a commitment from both to not resign, a move which would effectively collapse the Assembly.

The Assembly was recently restored after two years of suspension following the resignation of former first minister Paul Givan (DUP).

Before that, devolved government was suspended from 2017 to 2020 following the resignation of then deputy first minister Martin McGuinness (Sinn Fein).

Mr O’Toole raised the letter he wrote to Ms O’Neill and Ms Little-Pengelly during questions for the First Minister at the Assembly on Monday.

“First Minister, this isn’t a stunt. We’ve talked today about a whole range of urgent priorities for the people of Northern Ireland. In order to deliver those we need to have institutions.

“So will you now commit to not resigning your office for the remainder of this mandate?”

Ms O’Neill responded: “I’m here because I want to be. I’m here in the Executive Office, part of the Executive because I want to be and because I want to serve all of the people.

“That’s the mandate in which we were all elected to serve.”

She went on: “We received your letter.

“We will respond to you in writing but I can’t say that this is much bigger than the office of the Executive Office, because what you’re referring to is actually fundamental change, and I think the best place for that is in the political space and I think the Assembly and the Executive Review Committee is probably the best place for that should be taken forward.”